Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-29
TIL WEEKLY AzETE FORT FRIDAY APRIL 49,

To rave men abroad who are seeking out
for opportunities of merchandise. Inere
can be no objection to that. But there
are professed Christian merchants IL the
week night prayer meeting who nave
clerks abroad in New York, conducting
merchants of Cincinnati, and Chicago,
and st. Louis, through the debaucneries
of the great town, in order to secure
their custom for the store. There are IN
stores in New York and Brooklyn, draw
ers in which there are kept moneys winch
the clerks are to go and get whatever
they want to conduct these people
through the designations of the city. The
head men of the firm wink at IL, and in
some places actually demand 1t, pro-
fessed Christian merchants. One would
think that the prayer would freeze o.
their lips, and they would fall back DEAD
at the sound of their own song. What
chance is there for young men when COM
mercial establishments expect such
things of them? Among eli things in
fernal, l pronounce that the most Gamma
BILE. Young man, how will that firm treat
you when you are utterly despoiled, ana
dragged out with sin, going through the
haunts of iniquity for the purpose OF get
ting customers for their store? How
will they treat you? o, they will give
you pension They will build you
fine house! They will get you horse
and carriage! viii they? No. Some
day you will go to the store, shabby, in
! toxicated, worn out IN their service,
and they will say: "John, you are
disgrace to our house. NOW,
lust look at yourself Accountant, how
much do we owe this mani" "a dolar
and thirty cents" "Well, now, here
here it is; dollar and thirty cents. 60
off Don't be hanging around the store"
Magnanimity superb! They stole the
lustre from his eye, and the color from
| his cheek, and the honor from MS soul,
and then they kicked him out. II Sucn
professed Christian merchants don't go
straight to hell, don't know any use OF
having such place. o, young men, dis
appoint the expectation OF that 1rm; as
appoint those customers, if these things
are expected of you. You may sell an
extra case of goods; you may sell an eX-
tra roll of silk; but the trouble Is, you
msv have to throw your soul to boot IN
the bargain.
Again: 1 counsel all clerks to conquer
the trials of their particular position.
One great trial for clerks is the inconsld-
Grafton of customers. There are people
who are entirely polite everywhere else,
but gruff and dictatorial, and contempt
BILE when they come into q store to buy
ANYTHING. There are thousands of men
and women who go from store to store to
price things, without any idea of pur-
chase. They are not satisfied until every
roll of goods is brought down and they
I have pointed out all the real or imaginary
defects. They try on all kinds OF KID
gloves, and stretch them out OF shape,
and thew put on all styles of cloak and
walk to the mirror to see how it would
look, and then they sail out OF the store,
saving: az will not take it to-day
which means: 81 don't want it ALL
leaving the clerk amid wreck OF rib
! bons. aud laces, and Clvths, TO smooth
out $500 worth of goods-nOt one cent o.
+ which did that man or woman buy or eX-
? meet to buv. Now | call that a dishonesty
5 on the part of that person. L
boy runs into store
; and takes roll of cloth off thu
l counter and sneaks out into the street
} you sll Join il the cry pel NELL: "Stol
, thief" When l see you go into a store
! not expecting to buy anything but tt
price things, stealing the time OF The
} clerk, and stealing the time of his employ
I er. I saw too: "Stop thief" If l Were
: asked which class of persons most neet
the grace of God amid their annOysnces
e would say: "Dry goods clerks" Al
the indignation of customers about tn
e high prices comes on the clerk. For IN
+ stance: a great war comes. The manu-
/ factories are closed. The people go OF
! to battle The price of goods ru1
up A customer comes 1At
D the store. Gods have gone up
I CHOW much is that wOrth?" "a dollar.
| "a dollar. Outrageous, a dollar!
d WHY, who is to blame for the fact that
n has cot TO be dollar? Does the indtg'
= nation 60 GU. to the manufac tuers on tn
d banks of the MerrinaC, because the
$ have closed up? No. Does the indigna
g ton 90 out toward TIE employer, who
d out at his country seat? No. 1t come
- on the clerk. He got up the war! Il
n levied the taxes! He puts up the rent
n OF course the clerk!
=, Then q great trial comes to clerks
It the fact that they see the parsimoniou
e side of human nature. You talk a0ou
e lies behind the cOunter-there are Just .
Il many lies before the counter. AuguStln
r speaks of man who advertised that b
!. would, on a certain occasion, tell 10
r people what was In their hearts. A grel
Y crowd assembled, and he stepped to th
d front and said: 81 will tell you what
e in your hearts: To buy cheap and Sc
s. dear!" o, people of Brooklyn! lay IL
IS aside your urbsnity when you come INT
d q store. Treat the clerks like geutleme
It and ladies-proving yourself to be q gen
II tleman or lady. Remember, that II tn
,e prices are high and your purse
,e lean, that it is no fault OF II
/ clerks. And if you have son or daugI
10 ter amid those perplexit es OF Commercl
= life, and such one comes nome all Wor
o out, be lenieut, and know that the mart,
70 at the stake no more certainly needs tt
)e grace of God than our young people am
q the seven times heated eXasperatlons OF
id clerks life.
Is Then there are all the trials which con
he to clerks from the treatment OF lnconsl'
lt ate employers. There are proIeSSt
IN Christian men in this city who have I
" more regard for their clerks than the
q have for the scales on which the sugs
are weighed. A clerk is no more than
s. much store furniture. No considerable
IA for their rights or their interests. n
+. one word of encouragement from sunri
At to sunset, nor from January to Decembe
C. But when anything goes WrOng-a stree
in of dust on the counter, or box with Il
10 cover of-thunder showers CT scOIdln
Y Men imperious, capricious, cranky t.
n. wards their clerks-their whole mann
ce as much as to say: "All the Interest
Sc have in you is to see what can get 0
ur of you"
n Then there are all the trials Of incor
ur petent wages. Some OF you rememo
We when the war broke out and all meTcha
no disc went up, and merchants were ma
,is m1JliOpaires in six months by the simE
IS rise in the value of goods. Did the Gle
lin get advantage of that rise? Sometime
to rot always 1 saw estates gathered
,r those times. over which the curse Of O.